1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to light emitting devices having a silver-containing layer on the surface thereof and lighting equipment using the same.
2. Background Art
Light emitting devices using semiconductor light emitting elements (hereinafter, also simply referred to as “light emitting elements”) employ numerous types of resin packages that use leads as electrodes in which silver (Ag) having high reflectivity for the light emitted from light emitting elements is disposed at the outermost surfaces of the leads. However, Ag is highly reactive (sulfurized) in an environment where a corrosive gas, such as a sulfur-containing gas, is present, and thus is susceptible to discoloration and corrosion, reducing the reflectivity and considerably degrading the properties of light emitting devices. Accordingly, attempts have been made to cover the surface of Ag with inorganic materials such as glass. See, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. 2007-324256 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. 2009-224536